David O'Leary admitted lighting a candle before Leeds United's last match against Milan, and tonight, in the bear pit of the San Siro, he will discover whether it has burned to the wick or is still glowing brightly.
If Leeds can avoid defeat against the Group H winners they will boldly advance into the second phase as runners-up, while Barcelona's third-place finish will see them relegated to the UEFA Cup. The reverberations would be felt across Europe.
Should Leeds lose, however, and Barca beat Besiktas at the Nou Camp, the Catalans will gazump O'Leary's team on the basis of their head-to-head results. Even with an international pharmaceutical conference taking place in Milan, it would be hard to find a medicine capable of curing the migraine.
The mathematics are simple enough, although events elsewhere have conspired to make it anything but straight-forward.
The Italians are incensed by allegations in the Spanish daily Catalan Sport that Barcelona offered them £1.6 million sterling to win (£60,000 a man) and last night the fog of rumours and innuendo descending on the San Siro was as thick as the early-winter Milanese mist.
Alberto Zaccheroni, the Milan coach, bristled when a Spanish journalist broached the subject at a tetchy news conference, before cutting him dead with the sort of impenetrable glare Alex Ferguson must have thought was his copyright.
"Milan does not need money from anyone," said the club's managing director, Adriano Galliano. "These allegations impinge on our honesty and professionalism. Now they have been repeated by the English and Spanish tabloids it is a matter for our lawyers."
Barcelona, too, have strenuously denied the stories, but the situation remains far from satisfactory. If Milan win, the allegations will persist; by the same token, should Leeds triumph, the Italians will no doubt be accused of plotting to eliminate the big fish of the Nou Camp rather than the minnows of Elland Road.
"It is in the back of our minds there is a big possibility that Milan-Leeds will be a draw," Barcelona's Phillip Cocu has said. It may prove to be a fuss about nothing, but judging by the acerbic reaction of Lucas Radebe, the Leeds players are already harbouring a collective sense of injustice. Guilt has been presumed.
"Barcelona may not be technically breaking the rules, but this is totally wrong. It's a part of the game that should not be allowed," said the South African international. "If a team makes it into the second phase, it should be because they have done the business on the pitch, not because they have done financial business off it.
"Where do you draw the line? Look at what has happened in South African cricket. Hansie Cronje has been found cheating and now the public see the entire game as corrupt. I'm not saying that's going to happen in football, but if we start going down this road it is a definite possibility."
Having caught sight of the mountain's peak, the danger for Leeds is that they will lose their grip on the slope. Milan have scored in their last 23 European games at home, while Leeds, now based 50 miles away at Como, are still missing virtually an entire team through injury.
More than 6,000 fans will lend their support to Leeds, comprising the club's biggest following on the Continent since the European Cup final 25 years ago. Should their journey end with a touch of la dolce vita, this match might be remembered for the right reasons, after all.
Leeds probable (4-4-2): Robinson; Kelly, Radebe, Mills, Harte; Bowyer, Bakke, Dacourt, Matteo; Smith, Bridges.
